#creating an oc in a marginalized group is the best way to learn about that identity 👍

[theraccoonsinyourbackyard]

Google doesnt give me precise info so i want someone here to infodump me on intersexism

I got an intersex oc and i gotta admit i dont know much about that, so i want some tips on how to write that character without being accidentally offensive or misrepresenting the group

Include EVERYTHING! From social issues, the way it affects the way the voice sounds, appearance, types, i mean EVERYTHING you know!

The voice part is kinda important here, theyre quite the chatbox

[selfship-pride]

Pride Parade Spotlight: Mothblush!

Our first spotlight post is going to Tumblr user @mothblush​ ! They are a nonbinary artist and writer here in the community with a fun and innovative artstyle (their art above can be found here!) They’re also a big fan of video games and crocheting (the happy creator of 2 blankets and a hat no less!)

Moth is a friendly and open minded individual with lots of love to give! They said that their work is always LGBT+ friendly while being especially Trans positive!! They encourage more trans representation in media and hope that with their work they can bring more light into the lives of trans people by creating and supporting them, even if they’re just one person! Way to go, Moth!! You’ve brightened my day already!

Under the cut is an interview I had with Moth about their ships and any advice that had to give! Check it out!

What does pride mean for you and your F/Os?

Moth: “Pride for me and my F/Os means self-expression and positivity. It's important to remember the roots of pride and where it came from, but the fact that it's evolved into people celebrating and being proud of themselves speaks to me. While we understand in real life that LGBT people are marginalized, we still have the courage to come forward and be proud of who we are. I think that's huge. I think seeing LGBT selfshippers in the community is super important, because it brings us together as a group with solidarity. I at first felt pretty alone before seeing and meeting other LGBT selfshippers, so I speak from that experience! And the fact that everyone has been so supportive of my ships and content is something I will always thank my lucky stars for. My main F/Os are LGBT as well! All of their relationships paired with my S/I or OCs are unique in their own way. I always want to portray happy, healthy LGBT relationships. I personally feel like there's not enough of that. Kabuki is Pansexual, shipped with my S/I Moth who is nonbinary and bisexual. Jumba is a bisexual, transgender (trans man), polyamorous Pleakley is nonbinary & questioning/still unsure. Both (Jumba and Pleakly) are shipped with my OC Jackson who is nonbinary and genderfluid. The alien trio are all polyamorous! Since they're aliens I don't think they'd conform to human standards! Piers: Gay, and shipped with my OC Ridley, who is a trans man.“

Oh I think that’s wonderful! Poly pride! In your polyship, what is the dynamic like for all of you? Must be exciting to be living with those two! 

Moth: “It’s a pretty good dynamic! Jackson comes from a world that’s unfamiliar with the technology available on the planets their S/Os are from. They’ve had to learn a LOT of things, but thankfully both have been extremely patient and helpful. It definitely was a culture shock, but any obstacle in their relationship has been handled with grace.

At home the three of them love to relax; sometimes together, sometimes separately. When you have a trio of introverts sometimes the three of them just need to have their me time and recharge!

There’s a lot of love, respect, and understanding in their polyam relationship, and boundaries are seen as priority. Communication is key. The best way I can describe it is the buddy system, but with three- so they’re a team. It’s worked out for the three of them so far and they’re living that happy domestic life we all dream about. 💕 (Sometimes Jumba and Jackson debate about ridiculous things, though. They made him extremely riled up when they claimed a fish fully submerged underwater isn’t considered “wet.”)

That sounds like a healthy and nice dynamic to have with loved ones! You're a lucky one!!!

Moth: “Yeah! For clarification though, Jackson's just an OC I project traits and desires into, same with Ridley. Moth is definitely the closest thing to an S/I, but moreso in personality! I also think it's just less confusing than shipping one character with ALL of my F/Os, haha. Though Jackson DID start off as an S/I, their appearance and character changed enough over the years to evolve into their own character!”

It sounds like you have a healthy understanding of yourself and your F/Os!! Do you have any advice for any LGBT+ selfshippers who are going through a rough time or are struggling with their sexuality/identity? 

Moth: “ Thanks! And my advice to LGBT+ selfshippers, especially in their youth: You don't have to come out if you're not ready, but remember that you're still loved regardless. In your darkest hours, remember there are people who will love and support you for who you are. It sounds cliche, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It's also okay to put your safety first. Whether or not you're out and a member of the selfship community, as an LGBT+ selfshipper, I will ALWAYS support you and welcome you with open arms. If you ever need solidarity, I'm with you- I hear you, I see you, and even if I don't fully understand you, know that I empathize and will do my best to listen. Do not feel ashamed for being you. It is not wrong or abnormal, and to come out and share who you are with the world is an incredible act of bravery that many of us under the LGBT+ umbrella will love and support you for. No matter what the world says, we are an incredible, diverse group of individuals whose love shines brighter than any star. And of course: Your F/Os love you for you. They would never judge you or think of you any differently, and they would be ecstatic and over the moon to support you, and flattered beyond belief that you trusted them with something so personal and meaningful to you.”

WELL SAID!!! I think your words will really move some people and make them feel welcome to be themselves. Do you have anything else you'd like to add before we bring the interview to an end?

Moth: “Thank you so much, I'm so glad to hear that!! I'm glad to offer great words of comfort and support to the community. Anything else... well, shameless self promotion, follow me! I talk about Crossing Animals and Gay Aliens a lot. However I'd also like to give a shoutout to my friend @shinobishiba for being my biggest cheerleader and supporter in this community. I'm so glad to call them my friend! (And they are also LGBT and an extremely talented artist, so check them out!!)”

BIG thank you to Moth for sharing their 2 cents with us today and giving us some of their insight! They were a phenomenal first guest for the pride parade and I look forward to promoting more and more LGBT+ friends across the community! Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you next spotlight!

[ffamranxii]

I draw a manga/write a light novel series based on that manga, which is essentially an amalgamation of my favorite series and giving some of my favorite characters, who I feel were shafted in their source material, a better ending. That series is called C’est la Vie 5, because it originally featured five fandoms that I LOVED enough to have created an original character for.

Now, like many people, I’ve created a fuckton of OCs for a fuckton of series. However, unlike, say, Dragonball Z and Pokemon (RIP to Son Mei and Cissy the Eevee breeder), I still use these characters. I am still active in these fandoms. Some of these characters are nearly as old as I am. Some have gone through so many iterations that they’re nearly unrecognizable from their original forms (looking at you, Haruhi, Suzuka, and Kinoko). But they have ALWAYS been there.

C5 the way it is now started as a fun little project in college to help me memorize my Japanese vocabularly. It was a series of one shot or 4koma doodles in the margins of my notebooks, featuring PGSM+Hina. Then the doodles got mutated. I replaced Makoto with an original character named Sun Hwa, who then was replaced with Ayumi Yamada from Honey and Clover. I added in Hagumi Hanamoto from H&C too. Ami was renamed Moeco, and her appearance changed. I ended up splitting Ami in two, because I loved her Dark Mercury arc so much, and ended up with Moeco and Akumi. I added Mio Kuroki but called her Arisa Kuroki, because my Usagi at the time was called Mio. I added Mikasa from Attack on Titan. Misa Amane (named Erika after her actress in the live action). And it spiraled from there. C5 went through a TON of iterations as well over the past ten years. There was a character called Haruhi, but she was from the Haruhi Suzumiya series.

Now it’s pretty ironed out. The cast is so big I’ve split the series into a set of volumes into one big volume, so it doesn’t become Naruto. Each volume has a set of plots, two of which are contained within that volume. It’s pretty easy and I like it.

HINA is a mishmash of three fandoms (two if you count PGSM and Sailor Moon as one fandom). I fell in love with Boys Over Flowers (the Korean version) after discovering the live action Sailor Moon, and had a complete fit the entire time that Jandi chose Junpyo. (WHY, Jandi. WHY. Jihoo was BETTER for you. BETTER!) I had a Korean friend in my Japanese class, and it was at this period that my Makoto doodle was replaced with Sun Hwa (another Korean) and that Hina Kusaka (who is exclusive to PGSM, and whose name I stole for my OC) became Hina Ku (after the actress who played Jandi, not Goo Junpyo). Hina and Sun Hwa had small side conversations in Korean that my friend taught me, while the group as a whole reinforced my Japanese lessons. C5 has plenty of Boys Over Flowers characters (a mix of the Korean, 2019 Chinese, and Japanese versions), but I never made an OC for the series. Hina filled both roles. In PGSM and Sailor Moon I kept her name as Kusaka, but in C5 it’s Ku, and she is a zainichi - Korean-descended. Hina also plays a different role depending on which series I’m using her in. In PGSM, I used her as Sailor Sun. Sailor Sun has been a character I’ve had since I was five years old. She’s changed style and looks considerably over the years, but she’s always been there. In every other iteration of Sailor Moon, I prefer the theory that Naru and Unazuki are Sailors Earth and Sun, and Hina is one of Usagi’s many friends. In the pre-C5 era, she, Usagi, and Erika were part of the 3 Bakas, for their bad grades. 

AKIHO is my newest OC and holy shiiiiit I have cleaved to the Persona series hardcore. Rather than create a new OC for each entry in the series (though I may change my mind when Person 6 comes out), Akiho’s look, style, and role in the story changes (I reconcile this to be something akin to Clara Oswald in Doctor Who). In P5, which she was created for, she’s a Phantom Thief. The idea came to me when I learned there has never been a playable character of the Temperance arcana, Hifumi was supposed to be a PT, and the general consensus that Mishima and Shiho should have been PTs. Akiho has been through several iterations herself but her general look is based on Tae Takemi from @scruffyturtles ‘s Adult Confidant AU. Her personality seems very calm and serene, but she is a secret metal head and a huge fan of Eikichi Mishina’s band Gas Chamber. Her PT mask is based off a butterfly. Her role in C5 is a shrine maiden, where she gets along with Rei (Sailor Moon), is the sister of Akira Kurusu (who is a separate person from Ren Amamiya), and the daughter of a pair of mobsters.

KINOKO is my second oldest OC, having been around since I was twelve. Her original name was Cherry (like every other Tokyo Mew Mew OC) and her original animal is lost to the sands of time. Luckily, my favorite animal is a red data animal, so she can be fused with that now! Kinoko has been through so many iterations it isn’t funny. In the TMM world, her hair is an auburn, a dark brown with red undertones, mimicking how some mushrooms (where her name comes from) appear. (It’s a callback to her original name). Her Mew outfit has also changed considerably and I still haven’t settled on it completely. The Mew Mews are not a unit in C5. Zakuro is a model with Ann and dating Minto, Ringo (LOVE Ringo) is a middle schooler who hangs out at an arcade and is best friends with Bu-Ling, Ichigo is a waitress with Berii, Retasu works with Ryou. And Kinoko works at a karaoke bar, chasing troublemakers like Bu-Ling out. She also interacts with the new Au Lait boys.

SUZUKA is also an old OC, her name having originally been Meiling. She’s from Fushigi Yuugi, which I was obsessed with as a child. She’s nearly as old as Kinoko - I was introduced to the series at around the same time. Suzuka’s original role as Meiling was Miaka’s attendant and general Mary Sue, and she was one of my first attempts at exploring fanfiction (along with Kagami the cat demon and Teiten the Thunder Sister from Inuyashs, RIP), because I couldn’t decide which of the original Suzaku warriors I loved most. Everyone had such a wonderfully tragic, lovely backstory, and I needed to give them all blankets and hugs, and Miaka was just a dumbass, okay? (I think I settled on Tasuki. Love me some Tasuki.) Anyway. Suzuka eventually morphed into the Priestess of Kouryuu once I learned that Fushigi Yuugi was based on real Chinese legends, and one legend sometimes included Koryuu, the Yellow Dragon of the Center. (Fun fact: There’s a video game that explores this option, but in it, Kouryuu, is treated as a false god.) In my OC world, Kouryuu is the Great Unifier, only able to be summoned once the first four priestesses have summoned Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko, and Genbu, and it is he that will stop the war that threatens the four countries of the Book of the Universe of the Four Gods. In C5, Suzuka works at a bookstore owned by Hifumi Togo that specializes in rare books.

HARUHI is the last old OC, but she’s also new? Haruhi was, for the longest time, existant in a stage of limbo. Fruits Basket was introduced to me as a teenager, when I was about thirteen or fourteen, and I didn’t quiiiite embrace the message, behind it. I couldn’t get past the art style (I was very picky about what I visually consumed back then), I couldn’t get into the anime for the same reason, and I couldn’t quite get past the whole “it’s called Fruits Basket wtf and also they turn into animals? And it’s not a magical girl anime? What in the actual fuck?” But like many things I of course loved the characters, I adored my baby Kyo, and I of course made an OC specifically for him, because I back then did not ship Kyoru (sacriligious, I know). I don’t even remember what Haruhi’s original name was. I just decided that she was a Sohma and the rooster, because the curse of the original rooster was broken, and broke a long time ago, so it was entirely possible for Kyo to have a love interest who was a Sohma and the rooster who was around his age (in my teenage mind). That old Sohma OC, is of course, RIP. I can’t even. And recently, I discovered Fruits Basket Another, and I somewhat resurrected that OC in the form of Haruhi, but as the child of the OG cast. Sawa needs more friends, more protectors, and there’s no tsundere besides Hajime. It always bothered me that Kagura never got any canon love interest or story wrap up after she let go of Kyo, and then in Another she doesn’t have children. :( I love Kagura, so Haruhi is hers! I’m also sad that no one in Another dresses in kimonos when so many in Furuba did (Ritsu, Akito, Shigure, Kazuma, Kunimitsu), so Haruhi dresses in them when she isn’t in school. 

KEIKO is special. Not only is she the newest, but she is also the only character exclusive to C5. While the other characters in C5 are based on characters from other fandoms and have their personalities and such shaped by the new series, Keiko is entirely unique. Her name is a combination of the two things that birthed the series: Sailor Moon and Persona 5. Keiko is for Keiko Kitagawa, the actress who played Sailor Mars in PGSM; and Makigami is for Kazuya Makigami, a major character in Persona 5 the Daybreakers. Kazuya is also Keiko’s brother in C5 and he is... not a great person lol. Neither is Keiko. Her appearance is based on how I wear my hair irl and the clothing of Jim Hawking from Outlaw Star, my favorite anime of all time. (I sadly never made an OC for that series. I tried but I am not good at space opera.)

None of the OCs ever cross paths in C5. It would create a temporal paradox and probably result in one of them fainting or dying lol. Since they’re all essentially the same person. Fun fact: I, Ffamran (known in-universe as Bideru the author) also occasionally make cameos, and I also cannot cross paths with the OCs. Luckily Tokyo, where C5 is set, is a very big place. 

If you stuck with me through this very long post about OCs, thank you! I just really wanted to go off about them since I’ve been in a writing mood and I’m on volume 2 of C’est la Vie 5 now. 

[offtopicoverload]

I’m confused.

Tbf, I’m white as a ghost, but still.

If everyone only made characters that were exactly like them, there would be zero representation in most media. That’d be boring and dull.

Yeah, listen to people who are part of the community you’re trying to represent and correct yourself when you fuck up, but not trying to create characters that are different at all is worse, imo.

Again, I’m white as shit, so someone correct me if I’m way off here, but I’ll use non-binary as an example, since I am that.

I’d much rather a cis/binary trans person try and create a non-binary character and maybe slip up a few times than never try at all. There is virtually no non-binary representation in media, and there’d be even less if only enbies were allowed to create enby characters.

I think the same goes for other marginalized and underrepresented groups. You know yourselves best, but that doesn’t mean no one else is allowed to try and know you, to try and uplift your voice, to try and educate using what you’ve provided, or just to entertain using the things that make your community unique and interesting and amazing.

Personally, I write and create women and wlw characters, and I’m neither of those things! Should I abandon my OCs? Fuck no, I love them and try my hardest to represent them properly, in terms of their gender, and race, and sexuality, and appearance, and personality, and literally everything about them. I have very little in common with most of them, and so what? I have very little in common with canon characters, but I use what I know and research and try my best, as does nearly every writer, and there’s no way Margot’s any different.

I’m sorry anon, but this is dumb. I’m not Greek and I still use the Pythagorean theorem. I’m not Arabic and I use their numerals. I’m not Chinese and I use paper.

If we don’t try, and learn, and practice, and absorb information, we’ll never improve our representation as a whole, not just in something as trivial as fandom

Hi there! I recently discovered your TWC blog and was interested in seeing what you thought of the books. But, I am just wondering why you think it's appropriate to make a black detective when you are not? Thanks!

Hi! I created Delta as a character, not a self insert, she isn’t meant to represent me at all. I didn’t realise this was something inappropriate and I’m really sorry!! If anyone would be able to explain to me and educate to me why creating characters of colour is a problem please do because I am always looking to learn and never want to hurt anyone.

Please let me know, and I can delete the post and change my detectives appearance.

[meggannn]

race and character customizing

this is a post about a discussion other people have been making before me for ages but i’ve seen it spark up again on Andromeda’s release. a few comments i’ve seen over the past few days on white fans who are interested in making non-white Ryders have made me want to talk about it.

this is not an argumentative post. this is a post documenting my understanding of different sides an argument to help me to get my thoughts down. please do reply or reblog if you have thoughts or comments, especially if you’re a BW fan who’s not white (and a writer).

so there’s this discussion i see going around with white fans of bioware games asking whether or not they’re “allowed” to make non-white characters. to fully document my perspective on this, i need to first list reasons that white fans, in my experience, won’t or don’t make poc characters in customizable games. reasons tend to be the following:

they don’t want to “mess up,” ie, accidentally fall into stereotypes about poc characters when they don’t mean to

they don’t want to offend poc fans

they genuinely just don’t want to make poc characters, either because they’re only comfortable playing white people, or they don’t want to spend the energy to connect with poc (when they have a million other white ocs....), insert racist reason here, and some of them have learned to hide behind reason #1 or #2 when confronted about it

and there are so many problems that occur when white fans do make poc characters that i’d consider it really irresponsible to say “if you consider yourself an ally, you should probably consider making a non-white character,” which was more or less a recommendation i’ve loosely supported until recently. and yet, i’ve seen white fans making characters of color:

as a way of earning ally brownie points

then oversexualizing their character/using them for an “aesthetic” with no substance

then ignore criticism of their character from actual poc they’re representing

then trying to “claim” a race, ie, saying things like “i got angry at [my friend/a random person on the internet] for making an [asian] character, because i was going to make an [asian] character!”

that last one isn’t a joke, i actually saw it yesterday, the day of andromeda’s origin access launch -- someone making the default character heads at bioware must’ve done a really good job, because one of the female asian models is supposedly very popular, and someone posted that in response. i really hope i don’t have to explain why these things are wrong, but needless to say, when i want to encourage people to write outside of their comfort zone and create diverse rep, that sort of fake ally shit doesn’t help anyone and in fact actually hurts fellow fans by making character customizing into some sort of contest.

i was part of a discussion on @omegastation‘s blog this morning and an anon said they were interested in making a non-white oc but didn’t want to because they had been more or less intimidated out of it. i replied voicing my support for them to do it because, if i’m honest, i’ve started to view “i’m too nervous to mess up a coc” as a socially acceptable excuse not to bother caring about coc  -- even though i do know there are people who genuinely mean it.

the thing is, if someone is a writer or content creator of any sort and consider themselves an ally to marginalized groups they aren’t apart of, i think this way of facing our fears and stretching our boundaries is necessary as creators who want to write inclusive and respective material. (it’s just a responsibility to not act as though these characters are the epitome of representation or the best that will ever be done, so those marginalized should be nice to you for it.) as a mixed wlw and aspiring writer, i think examples like character customizations in games like mass effect and dragon age are great ways of stretching a writer’s legs with diversity. largely the characters are technically already written for us -- characters like shepard, hawke, and ryder are free of bias or racial leanings, they already have depth, and they’re just waiting for you to fill in the blanks with headcanons and fanart and fic and whatnot.

and yet that seems to be where white fans trip over the most. either they fall into stereotypes; or they’re so afraid of messing up that they avoid engaging or thinking about their coc too much, so they end up flat and more or less ignored for their white characters; or they oversaturate their coc so much it doesn’t even become a real person but just a empty mould with a diverse face for the sake of Peak Representation. it’s been a rare instance when i’ve seen a white fan of a BW game create a poc character that has actually been, like, a decent, fully-rounded character; on this site i see coc by white people fail usually by either doing too much or not enough. i am usually guilty of doing not enough when i make characters who aren’t my race, so this isn’t exclusive to white fans. i’m attempting to rectify that in andromeda by making my ryders multiracial with largely ambiguous heritage (mostly out of annoyance tbh, because mass effect takes place 200 years in the future, right? and bioware has confirmed that most humans are at least biracial by this point, so why are there so many natural blondes and redheads???? it drives me NUTS). mixed rep is representation I personally feel really passionate about because so many of us are misrepresented by being forced into one ‘category’ or another, but even with a narrative reason for widespread multiracial heritage in the mass effect universe, I feel like mixed characters are so rarely explored in this fandom.

ANYWAY. for most of my time in BW fandom i’ve largely been theoretically supportive of white fans making diverse characters because i’m quite frankly tired as shit of seeing white people complain about BW’s diversity and i figure interest is at least step in the right direction. hell, my friend is looking into MEA fan boards right now and is reporting to me that there are white fans complaining there is no good ‘pale white’ skin color. like frankly, if that’s your biggest concern, i don’t care about your feelings on representation and don’t expect you to understand what real underrepresentation feels like. (and no, you’re not actually losing hairstyle options when some of the designs are specifically for black women so they can have natural hair options. what the fuck?) so if i see other fans who want to stretch outside their comfort zone and be more inclusive in their character designs, like sure, why not? at least some people are stepping in the right direction, and if they’re friends, at least i can help them if i see them making a wrong turn and know they’ll respect me.

well, okay, more seriously: why not? after reading other opinions on this, i have a few reasons.

sometimes i see poc characters written or drawn by white ‘allies’ and i literally want to run my nails down a chalkboard. it might be well-drawn or -written, but even in tumblr’s relatively liberal atmosphere, it can still offensive, and it can still clearly done for attention or ‘friendly’ stereotypical jokes, not for actual love of the character. i want to think most people know better not to make obviously stupid mistakes, but I’ve driven people away with unintentionally offensive jokes in the past, so i know absolutely nobody is above this one.

even unintentionally, it can still drown out characters made by actual non-white fans -- who are just as talented, and spend just as much time creating and promoting their work, and consistently are paid less attention to on average than white fans.

fetishization. ties in with the ‘aesthetic’ point above.

it’s not enough for me to say “okay, only DECENT allies can make poc characters” because obviously everyone considers themselves a 'good’ ally, and even people that you thought were ‘good’ allies can get defensive when they’re confronted with the fact that they messed up.

i’ve also been thinking and i don’t think i’ve ever seen a white fan make a mixed race character who’s been my specific mix of heritage, but if i did, i don’t think i’d be offended. i’d be offended if they acted like they should be rewarded for it, but just the character? sure, go ahead. but i totally understand why other people would be offended, and i one-thousand-percent respect that and don’t want to talk over their feelings just because i happen to be more of a “do whatever you like so long as you’re not hurting anyone” kind of person anyway.

i also 100% think that white fans making non-white characters might actually make us better writers and storytellers and artists, but i 100% understand why poc consider that absolute bullshit, because we’ve seen the evidence and sometimes it does more harm than good.

so, i guess i have a question for my followers: if you’re a bioware fan who’s not-white, what’s your stance on this? if you’re a content creator, do you feel overshadowed by white creators when they make coc or does it happen so rarely it doesn’t affect you*? am i overthinking or not considering a point? do you have an opinion on this? (or do you care?)

this is not intended to start discourse. this is meant to be a question post to ask how other non-white BW or custom RPG fans feel about a common problem I personally feel very divided on.

(*personally i see white OCs far more than non-white OCs in BW fandoms, so much that it’s a fair assumption on my end that 95% of the COC i see are made by poc, which makes it practically a non-issue for me, but that's just be my experience.)